Poll reveals CSR is important to Mena employees

According to a recent poll – released yesterday by Bayt.com – most Mena employees think that corporate social responsibility (CSR) is important and are eager to dedicate themselves to charitable initiatives.

However, the ‘Corporate Social Responsibility: Is Your Company Making an Impact?’ poll reveals that while 95.3 per cent of participants in the region want to do more community service work, many have no idea where to start.

Sixty two per cent of respondents said they could not afford to contribute financially, the majority of which preferring to give their time rather than donating money. Additionally, 22.6 per cent believe that donated money will not be used correctly.

In contrast, respondents who do not participate in charity claimed that the primary reason for not doing so is because they don’t know where to start (41 per cent), or because their company does not engage in such activities (15.1 per cent).

For the majority of respondents (76.8 per cent), working for a socially responsible company is very important to them, with almost 90 per cent saying they believe the corporate sector has a moral responsibility to do CSR work.

A staggering 74.7 per cent of respondents said the company they work for ‘highly encourages’ employees to participate in CSR activities, with 43.9 per cent of companies seen by respondents as participating ‘very regularly’ and 23 per cent as ‘sometimes’ participating.

A large number of the CSR activities that Mena companies engage in are focused on feeding, housing or clothing the poor (25 per cent), and working with orphans and underprivileged children (13.2 per cent).